There are major signs that 'Friends' will leave Netflix after this year

Kevin Reilly, the head of content for AT&T's upcoming
streaming service, signaled on Monday that "Friends" may not be
on Netflix much longer.

"Sharing destination assets like that, it's not a good
model to share," Reilly said during a Television Critics
Association press tour.

AT&T and Netflix struck a deal last year to keep
"Friends" on Netflix through 2019, while allowing AT&T to
also include the show on its own platform.

After AT&T bought Time Warner last year, forming the new
WarnerMedia, it was quick to jump into the streaming war.
AT&T announced in October that it would launch a streaming
service this year, and the future of "Friends" on Netflix has
been in doubt because of it.

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WarnerMedia's new head of content for the upcoming streaming
service, Kevin Reilly, signaled that the hit 1990s Warner Bros.
sitcom, which has found a new audience thanks to Netflix, could
eventually leave the streaming giant.

Netflix and AT&T struck a
deal last year to keep "Friends" on Netflix through 2019,
while giving AT&T the freedom to also include it in its own
streaming platform, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson confirmed at
December's UBS Global Media and Communications Conference.

Netflix is dropping up to $100 million for the rights to
"Friends," according to The New York Times, up from
the $30 million is was previously paying per year.

But Reilly's comment hints that AT&T could want
"Friends" all for itself, and potentially end a deal with Netflix
after 2019.

"Friends" isn't the only major piece of content that
AT&T is eyeing for its service.

Reilly said that it would "build
on the foundational ethos" of HBO, and also include content
from Cartoon Network, the CW, Adult Swim, New Line Cinema, and
Warner Bros. He added that a beta version this year will include
no original content, which will come in 2020.